I'm getting a Nintendo Switch on day one. The launch layout is nothing special, but it includes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is enough for me. I think I'm more excited about BotW than I've been about any game that's come out in the last decade.

Here's what I'm planning to pick up by 3/3:

  • Nintendo Switch with Gray Joy-Cons: I may have gotten the neon Joy-Cons if they were available for pre-order, but by the time I found them in a store near me, that was not an option. I think the gray ones make the system look a bit more "professional" than having two different-colored neon bars stuck on the side of your console.
  • Breath of the Wild: Special Edition: This is the one I was able to preorder. I totally don't need a ~10" Master Sword statue, but I'll totally get one instead if I have the choice when I pick my system up.
  • Switch Pro Controller: Having one of these around is sort of essential. It's borderline inexcusable that it's $70, but I'd like to be able to play with the best controller for the job, and I expect for BotW, this'll be it.
  • Snipperclips: This $20 eShop game looks good and is supposedly super fun. It'll be a good way to cleanse the palate after marathon Zelda sessions.

  • All the Breath of the Wild Amiibos: looks like this will be five amiibos for $84:

    • Guardian
    • Bokoblin
    • Zelda
    • Link (Archer)
    • Link (Rider)
  • A Micro SD Card: The Switch has 32GB. I'm not sure how much this will end up mattering in practice for someone who primarily purchases physical games, but a SanDisk 128GB Micro SDXC card is only $40 on Amazon right now.

That's about it, honestly. I'm comfortable getting the system, learning how it works and what it's good for, and playing Zelda for a few hundred hours until April when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes out. I'm excited for Skyrim, Splatoon 2, ARMS and Super Mario Odyssey as well, whenever they'll come out.

Later on, I expect to get:

  • Switch Dock Set: For $90, you essentially get to have a second switch on a second television, which seems really worth it to me. I travel to my parents for the weekend quite often, and getting to play my games on the big screen there would be really great, especially around the holidays.
  • More Joy-Cons: Joy-Cons cost $50 right now and include the $8 wrist strap. I expect over time that'll drop by $10-15, and wouldn't be surprised if games in the future included limited edition colors / designs of Joy-Cons L and R for $100-120. Speaking of, 1-2-Switch would be great if, for $100, it included a set of limited edition Joy-Cons, similar to how Wii Play was only $10 more than a Wiimote.
  • Some Joy-Con charging solution: I'm holding off on this now, but would love a better solution for charging Joy-Cons than plugging them into the docked console, but will wait to use the system before making this decision for real.

Final Notes

  • Nintendo's official switch site says the Switch includes a "Joy-Con Grip". Nintendo separately sells a "Joy-Con Charging Grip" -- are these different?
  • I understand how profit margins work, but for the $300 a Switch costs, you get items Nintendo sells for $200 separately: an $80 set of Joy-Cons, a $90 Switch Dock and a $30 Joy-Con Grip. It feels like, of these, the spare Dock is not including cables or the console itself. I don't think $300 is an outsize cost for a portable home console.